Three people have been evacuated from a cruise ship off the coast of Cape Verde amid an as the vessel faces an outbreak of the rare but severe hantavirus. The patients are now on their way to the Netherlands for treatment.
The ship is waiting for permission to dock in the Canary Islands, after being barred from landing in Cape Verde, amid public health concerns.
Three passengers have already died and several others are seriously ill. Nearly 150 people are still on board.
Hantavirus is usually transmitted by contaminated rodent droppings but health authorities in South Africa and Switzerland have identified a strain that can be transmitted between humans.
Among those evacuated on Wednesday is the ship’s doctor, Spain’s health ministry has said. The ministry said on Wednesday that the doctor, who was initially scheduled to be flown to the Canary Islands, is now being evacuated directly home to the Netherlands “after his health had improved.”
Two passengers were evacuated to South Africa earlier this week. One, a British man is still in intensive care. Tests were performed on another passenger posthumously after she died.
Authorities in Switzerland also announced Wednesday that a man who returned from a trip to South America and travelled on the cruise ship has tested positive for the virus and is receiving treatment.
For now, the Dutch-flagged Hondius is moored in the Atlantic, waiting to head to the Canary Islands.
On Tuesday, the Spanish government said it would receive the vessel after a request from the World Health Organization. The islands’ regional governor opposed the offer, citing public health concerns, but Madrid insists that it will ultimately make the call.
The Andes strain of the virus believed to be behind the outbreak is found in South America, primarily in Chile and Argentina, where the weeks-long Atlantic cruise originated on 1 April.
Hantavirus causes severe respiratory illness. The World Health Organization said it’s closely monitoring the health of passengers and crew.
“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posted on social media.
